Landfall

The Stars Like Sand

The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry is a well-reviewed 2014 anthology of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror poetry that I co-edited with P. S. Cottier. You can buy The Stars Like Sand from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle ebook.

Men Briefly Explained

Men Briefly Explained is my 2011 poetry collection that explains men, briefly. You can buy Men Briefly Explained from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle ebook.

My Library from LibraryThing

About Me

I'm a writer, editor, anthologist, and now blogger who was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England and moved to New Zealand with my family when I was 2.
I grew up on the West Coast and in Southland, then went to Dunedin to go to Otago University before moving to Wellington in 1993. I'm married with one child.
I'm juggling the writing of poetry, short fiction and novels, working part time, trying to be a good husband and father, and working hard to get New Zealand to take effective action on climate change - not to mention all the other problems the world faces. Life is busy!

25 June 2013

I'm the hub Tuesday Poem editor this week, and the poem I've chosen is "Oh Dirty River" by Helen Lehndorf. Check it out at the main Tuesday Poem blog, and don't forget to check out the poems in the sidebar as well!

17 June 2013

I'm looking forward to the Joss Whedon film of "Much Ado About Nothing" which has just been released in NZ and the UK, opens in Australia in July, and will form part of the upcoming NZ Film Festival and then (I hope) get a theatrical release here.

I loved the 1993 Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson version, but from what I've heard, Joss Whedon's version, with Amy Acker (pictured in the video) and Alexis Denisof as Beatrice and Benedick, makes sure to shine a light on the other characters who tend to get shoved aside by the Beatrice/Benedick story: and thereby darkens the narrative, because the story of Hero and Claudio is framed to address "slut-shaming" that's all too contemporary.

Here is Maurissa Tancharoen singing "Sign No More" from the new film, and Shakespeare's words below. It helps to know that 'nothing' was Elizabethan slang for 'vagina', which also puts Benedick's name in perspective.

05 June 2013

My story "Rescuing the Airmen" is one of those included in the new anthology Regeneration: New Zealand Speculative Fiction II, which will be launched in early July. Check out the marvellous cover by Emma Weakley - and get in quick by pre-ordering the anthology in print or ebook formats.

Regeneration

Some things are gone forever; but that is not the end. There are new lives to be lived, new discoveries to be made, changes to be fought for, enjoyed, or feared.

Experience worlds where existence continues beyond death and much-wanted babies become something else entirely. Where humanity endures in hostile environments, societies adapt to new challenges and inventions, and strange creatures live secretly among us. Travel from a curiously altered Second World War to other universes at the end of time, taking in diverse visions of New Zealand and worlds beyond along the way.

Regeneration, the second volume of New Zealand Speculative Fiction from Random Static, presents 22 original works of science fiction and fantasy by Kiwi authors. Stories of loss and renewal, of fantastic technology and mysterious transformations, of supernatural predators and survivors building new futures. Life always goes on, but seldom the way you'd expect...

This is it, folks - today (Tuesday 4 June) is the very last day for Australians (resident and expat) to submit to The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry, which I'm co-editing with P.S. Cottier. Get your poems in today - once you have read the full guidelines. Remember that we're looking for previously-published as well as original poems!